Wednesday, August 29, 2012

How to Save Money by Making Your Own Mixes in Bulk

Nearly everyone accepts a little help from the store when it comes to seasoning mixes, baking mixes and even cake mixes. Take a look at the ingredients of those mixes. Many times they are full of salt and other preservatives that are just not all that good for you and your family. To avoid getting all of the bad stuff, but still having these convenient mixes, you can make your own. Since you are doing the work you are also saving money over buying the mixes from the store. Check out some of these mixes and try them in your home.

Baking Mix Take 5 ½ cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 3 tablespoons of baking powder, and 1 cup of shortening and mix them together with a pastry blender until crumbly. Use this in place of recipes for Bisquick.

Ranch dressing Mix Put the following ingredients in a food processor; ½ cup of dry buttermilk, 1 tablespoon of dried parsley, 1 teaspoon of dill weed, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1 teaspoon of dried onion flakes, 1 teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon on garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Process all of the ingredients until it’s a fine powder and keep it in an airtight container. To prepare dressing add 1 tablespoon of mix to 1 cup of mayonnaise and 1 cup of milk.

Cocoa Mix In a large bowl mix together 4 cups of dry milk powder, 1 ½ cups of sugar, 1 cup of non-dairy powdered coffee creamer, 2/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 (4oz) box of instant chocolate pudding. After you mix everything together, run everything through a fine mesh sifter and store it in an airtight container. To make, add ½ cup of mix to an 8 oz. mug and fill with boiling water.

Yellow Cake Mix In a bowl mix together 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups sugar, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, and ½ cup of non-fat dry milk. Mix well and store in a zip top bag. Add these instructions to the outside of the bag: Add ¾ cup of water, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, ½ cup of softened butter and 3 eggs to the mix. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes and pour into greased baking pans. Baking times are similar to those on a box mix.

Sugar Cookie Mix Store this mix in a quart sized zip top bag. To make this mix you will mix together 1 ½ cups flour, ¾ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda and ½ teaspoon of salt. On the bag write: Add one stick of softened butter, 1 large egg and ½ teaspoon of vanilla. Mix together and bake for 9-11 minutes at 350 degrees F. You can prepare this mix at a savings of over $2.00 when compared to the leading brand of cookie mix.

Cornbread mix Stir together 2/3 cup of flour, ½ cup yellow cornmeal, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Store this mix in a quart sized zip top bag and write the following directions on it: Add 1 egg, 1/3 Cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of oil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees F. This recipe saves you $ .45 over the popular box mix.

Muffin base In a large bowl mix together 18 cups of flour, 5 cups of sugar, 2 ¼ cups of buttermilk blend or non-fat dry milk powder, 6 tablespoons of baking powder, 2 tablespoons of baking soda, 2 tablespoons of salt, 3 tablespoons of cinnamon, and 3 teaspoons of ground nutmeg. Keep in a large resealable container. To make the muffins take 5 ½ cups of mix, 4 eggs, 3 teaspoons of vanilla, and 1 cup of oil and combine. Batter will be lumpy. Bake at 400 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes. Muffins can be frozen. To reheat a frozen muffin, microwave on high for 30 seconds.